Here comes growth victory lap

A move expected today to resurrect two sprawling developments rejected last year by the Orange County Commission is akin to a victory lap by the growth-at-all-costs crowd.

Innovation Way East and Rybolt Park were defeated last year as the threat of Amendment 4, a ballot amendment that would have required voters to approve changes to land-use plans, danced in the background.

Today, Amendment 4, also known as Hometown Democracy, is dead (67 percent of people voted against it) and the state agency that oversaw growth — and occasionally stopped especially bad sprawl — is newly gutted by Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature.

The return of the pair of projects, each with more than 5,000 homes as well as commercial space, shouldn't be a surprise.

At least it's not to South Florida attorney Lesley Blackner, the driving force behind Amendment 4 who has backed away from the spotlight since last November's election.

I caught up with her last week. I was curious what the woman who battled the largest business lobbies in the state, including the Florida Chamber of Commerce, had to say about the sweeping changes to growth management in Florida and its impacts such as the potential revival of the Orange projects.

"I think this is just about showing who's in charge," Blackner said. "It doesn't matter if the economy is good or bad or whether we need more construction or not. The development industry controls Florida and they get what they want. Who is the principal contributor to local campaigns?"

She may not have had all the answers with Amendment 4 — it certainly was an imperfect solution — but she is right about one thing. Despite the real estate bust and painfully slow recovery, growth is still Florida's No. 1 industry.

"The heart of power in Florida is who controls construction," she said. "The fact that they're [Innovation Way East and Rybolt] being brought up again, you know what that demonstrates? That Florida still has no vision."

Blackner continues to practice environmental and land use law and though she managed to create a network of growth skeptics in Florida, don't expect her to resurface to fight local governments who let sprawl win. By the time the November election was over her funding and energy was drained — at least for now.

"We had to go to the Supreme Court seven times to get on the ballot," she said. "By the time we got to the election it was just too much."

It's going to be incumbent on local neighborhood groups to act as watchdogs and raise a ruckus when elected leaders are considering bad decisions. And don't confuse such skepticism with an anti-business sentiment.

Just take a look around foreclosure-ravaged neighborhoods on the outskirts of town to see that a glut of cheap housing is not the path to economic prosperity.

Angel investing group launched

Speaking of wealth, there's a new group in town that's showing early signs of promise in filling a long-standing gap: start-up capital.

William De Temple, an Ormond Beach businessman, just launched an angel investing group. Their aim is to do just what their name suggests: serve as angels for entrepreneurs who need cash and guidance.

They are called Maximize Angel Investments Orlando, Inc. (MaxAngelInvestments.com) and so far have 22 people who have each committed to making at least two investments of $25,000 in companies each year.

One of them is George Livingston, chairman emeritus of NAI Realvest in Maitland, who wants to help new companies grow as well as see a return on his investment. He said he has high hopes for the group.

Other attempts at starting such funds in Orlando have come and gone, often without much success.

De Temple hopes to change that and expects for members to consider their first investments this fall.